Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Fight or Flight ❯ Working the Plan ( Chapter 11 )

“I don't like it.”

 

Dean threw the bolt home, locking the door firmly as he spoke. Then he turned back to Sam, wearing an expression of clear disapproval.

 

“No, I don't like it at all,” Dean continued, when Sam simply shoved his hands into his pockets and didn't answer.

 

“Why?” Sam asked calmly.

 

“Why? Are you freakin' kidding me?”

 

Sam shrugged. “Look, Dean, I know it sucks. This whole thing sucks. But it might be the only way to get all of them out of this alive.”

 

“Well, sure, if everything goes exactly the way you want it to. And I've never heard of a plan where so many things could go wrong.”

 

“Yeah, but…well, at least we know Ryo won't get killed. Well, unless he has weak bones or something.”

 

“Okay. Ryo won't die. That's all to the good. But that's pretty much the only sure thing. I mean, what if this demon decides to ignore the pain, or whatever, and stick around to finish off Dee? What if it figures out what we're the threat? Hell, what if none of it even works? I mean, you said it yourself—this thing is not like other demons. Maybe it doesn't even follow these rules—”

 

“Dean.”

 

That was all Sam said. Just “Dean.” But it was enough to silence the elder Winchester, and nothing more needed.

 

“I know this plan has flaws. I know, okay? But it's the only thing I've got.”

 

That got Dean's full attention, and, seeing that, Sam took it and ran with it.

 

“I'm just as out of my depth here as you are. I've never seen anything like this, either, and if you don't know how to take care of this—you being Dad's protégé and all—then how the hell am I supposed to? I don't have a backup plan here, Dean—”

 

“Well, if that's not proof that this city is cursed, I dunno what is.”

 

“—But I want to protect them. All of them. And if we do this right, we can do that.”

 

Sam had been speaking with all the urgency of a lawyer in a courtroom, and in the end, he didn't need Dean's nod and grunt of reluctant assent to know that he'd won.

 

“So what are you gonna tell Mother?” Bikky asked as he and Ryo walked slowly up to the church, where Dean and Sam had dropped them off. Sam had explained his plan on the way, and even as he spoke Bikky was trying to quiet his unease.

 

The arm that wasn't around Bikky lifted in a shrug. “I have no idea. She always knows when I'm lying, but she'll have a heart attack if I tell her the truth.”

 

“So we're just gonna wing it?”

 

Ryo paused for a moment, for a reason Bikky couldn't fathom, before he replied. “Yes, Bikky, we're just gonna wing it.”

 

His words were very soft, and he placed the smallest emphasis on the word “we.” And when Bikky looked up at him, he was smiling.

 

It was only a very small smile, but it was a start.

 

XXX

 

We.

 

Ryo had no idea why that small, so-simple word affected him the way it did—why it made the corners of his mouth turn up, just slightly, and caused his sinking heart to rise from his ankles to the general vicinity of his knees. It wasn't much of a lift, but his spirits had been so low that he felt the difference deeply. His arm tightened around his son in silent gratitude that Bikky would probably feel, but wouldn't understand. After all, Ryo didn't understand it, so why should Bikky?

 

He was still thinking about it as he reached out and rang the bell, but all thoughts flew from his mind as Maria opened the door after a two-minute wait.

 

The moments after Maria opened the door were a blur. Later, Ryo would try to remember them, and come up with nothing except a white face, a quick intake of breath, soft murmurs of what might have been prayer…and then he and Bikky were settled on Maria's couch, and the fog cleared.

 

Ryo had never quite understood the old nun's ability to seemingly pick the thoughts right out of his head, but she demonstrated it now, taking one long, searching look at his face and saying, “It's Dee, isn't it?”

 

Ryo nodded wordlessly, and Maria closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again. “Dear God, is he…?”

 

“No, Mother. No,” Ryo replied, almost instantly, though he wasn't quite sure how to define exactly what Dee was. Still, he knew the answer was the right one when Maria folded for just a moment, her hands coming up to cover her face, the relief radiating from her.

 

But the moment was over before Ryo's jealously for that relief could rise, and then the nun was completely businesslike.

 

“Well, what is it, then? What's the matter with him?”

 

Now, Ryo had almost managed to come up with a story by then—a story that would tell just enough of the truth that hopefully Maria wouldn't know right off that he was lying, but not enough to send her into cardiac arrest. He'd blessed his training as an officer then, because it had greatly enhanced his ability to think on his feet.

 

Until his carefully-concocted tale flew straight out of his head the second her eyes fixed on him, and he found himself babbling the whole story, with very little control over the words coming out of his mouth. Luckily, he did have enough control left to spew only the bare facts, without letting his own feelings color his words, though the emotions practically choked him.

 

When he finally fell silent, Maria sat back in her chair and murmured, “Well. This is a fine mess we're in, isn't it?”

 

There it was again—the we, the immediate rise inside, the feeling…

 

“So why did you come to me?” Maria asked, breaking the silence. “Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you letting me know, but I can tell that's not the real reason you came knocking on my door at four in the morning.”

 

She was taking this entirely too well. A lot better than me…But then, maybe she was simply as good as—or better than—an NYPD cop at hiding her emotions.

 

“Well? Go on, out with it. What can I do?”

 

“Well, uh, I wanted to know if you'd be willing to…keep Bikky here until this is taken care of. This thing in Dee may not care about going after him, but I won't take that chance.”

 

“Does that mean you're keeping him home from school, then?”

 

“If it comes to that. But hopefully it won't last that long.” Because if it does, I will surely kill myself…

 

Maria sighed heavily. “You know, I'd hoped never to have to be involved in anything like this. That's why I sent John Winchester out the door twenty years ago, and that's why I haven't tried to contact him since. And yet, here I am. I guess the past does have a habit of catching up with all of us sooner or later.”

 

“So…so will you help us?” Ryo asked uncertainly.

 

Maria looked completely disgusted then. “Well, of course I'm going to help you! What, did you think I was just going to leave you out in the cold, and let my boy die? All I'm saying is that it seems it was entirely pointless for me to refuse John all those years ago. I assume those boys of his are going to help you, by the way?”

 

“More like I'm going to help them. They'll do most of it…”

 

Maria held up a hand to silence him then, and shook her head, looking troubled. “Don't. I don't want to hear your plan, because it's bound to be dangerous, and if I hear about it, I'll want to stop you. And obviously, that would be completely unacceptable.” She smiled then, a smile meant only for Ryo, and he felt The Feeling again.

 

Only, this time, he knew what it was. He'd felt it from Dee before, but he hadn't needed it in so long, and now Dee…wasn't Dee. So maybe it wasn't too surprising that Ryo didn't recognize the feeling—the feeling of being supported.

 

The feeling of not being alone.

 

XXX

 

Ryo went into the precinct Saturday, because he hadn't been in in a couple of days, and if he didn't show his face by the time the weekend was up, he would have Rose to deal with.

 

He had expected to be asked why Dee was in the hospital again—there was no way to hide the fact, since a doctor's note had been sent to the Commissioner, and Rose's reputation for being unable to keep his mouth shut was well-founded. So he was prepared to go into the precinct and lie to them.

 

What he was not prepared for was for JJ and Drake to descend on him the second he stepped through the door, and for the latter to hug him carefully while the former bounced around with a sad look on his face, like he'd watched a puppy die.

 

“I'm so sorry, Ryo,” Drake murmured.

 

Ryo stood stiffly for a moment, his mind racing, and then he allowed himself to lean on his friend, just for a moment. “How did you find out?”

 

Drake backed up until his hands clutched Ryo's shoulders. “Ryo, have you turned your TV on at all since yesterday?”

 

Ryo shook his head. “I've been with…I haven't seen anything.”

 

The next thing he knew, Drake was pulling him into the nearest empty meeting room and stopping in front of the TV, reaching out to turn it on, while JJ hopped impatiently from one foot to the other behind them.

 

“…Dee Laytner, the NYPD officer who was found trapped in an abandoned factory two days ago, after being captured by an unknown assailant, has gone missing once again, this time from the hospital he was in after being caught in an explosion downtown. Hospital personnel remain baffled by the events, and insist that no one on staff has any idea what could have happened. As of yet, no evidence has appeared linking this disappearance to the last.”

 

Ryo jumped as a picture of Dee came up suddenly, filling the screen, and he felt the blood drain from his face. “Turn it off,” he said in a weird, strangled voice that didn't remotely sound like his.

 

Drake looked at him, and immediately reached out to flick the TV off, looking alarmed.

 

“It's all over the place,” JJ said into the silence. “Rose blew a gasket when he found out—he was hoping to keep it quiet, like the whole…fake death…thing. But obviously, since he somehow managed to pull that one off, he's used up all his luck—and his contacts—for one lifetime. Anyway, he's been screaming into the phone all day, trying to track down the informant and have him shot, or something along those lines. No one's seen him, so we're all basically running around in the dark here.”

 

“Huh. Well, I wish you luck,” Ryo said absently.

 

“Ryo, are you okay?” Drake asked. “Uh…physically, I mean,” he clarified, when JJ rolled his eyes.

 

“Well…yeah, sure. Why?”

 

“Oh, I dunno. You just look…a little dazed.”

 

“No, I'm fine. This is all just…a little weird. You know, seeing him there like that. On TV, you know.” Liar. “Listen, I'm gonna go talk to Rose. See if I can find out what's going on. Thanks for letting me know about…this.”

 

“Sure, Ryo. And if you feel like taking the day off, we'll cover for you, no problem.”

 

Ryo smiled wanly. “Thanks.”

 

“Sure. We're always here for you, Ryo.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

XXX

 

“NO, DAMN IT, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO REPORT! I'M THE ONE WHO NEEDS THE REPORT! No, don't you dare put me on hold again, you useless…GAH!”

 

Rose slammed the phone down and rounded on Ryo. He stared for a moment, then spoke in a completely different voice.

 

“Come in, Ryo.”

 

“Have you tracked anything down?” Ryo asked, trying to sound calm as he closed the door behind him.

 

Rose sighed and shook his head, perching on the edge of his desk. “Not a thing. It's like everything in the world is against me tracking down whoever ratted on us. I guess it doesn't really matter, but…”

 

“You want to know anyways.”

 

“Yeah…so did you want something? Besides to find out what the hell? Because I still have no idea.”

 

“Oh. Well, I guess that's all I wanted, then. Except…well, I was wondering if you'd mind if I…took a half day today. I…uh…have someone I have to meet.”

 

Rose shrugged. “That sounds pretty…doable. I planned to have you on desk duty if you showed up, anyway. All of the paperwork is in your office.”

 

Ryo nodded. “Thanks, sir.”

 

As he sat up and left, though, Ryo's relief was shadowed by something else.

 

Rose had only made two passes at him, both of them extremely subtle, and that usually meant only one thing: he was worried.

 

And that was never good.

 

XXX

 

Two hours later, Ryo had moved on from being worried about Rose to cursing his existence.

 

He sighed and closed another file, setting it onto his completed pile before turning back to the much larger pile that he'd been wading through. I guess I can dismiss the idea that he's pitying me…

 

The door creaked open just as the though crossed his mind, and he groaned inwardly. Not now…

 

But when he steeled himself, and looked up, he did not see Berkley Rose leaning over him, ready to catch up on all the inappropriate come-ons he'd missed out on earlier.

 

The thing with Dee's face didn't say anything this time. It just stood in front of Ryo's desk, and looked at him. Ryo stared back at him, wanting to shout, to scream, to run, to do anything that would relieve the sudden tightening in his chest, the sudden clench in his belly…

 

It was impossible to tell how long it lasted. Long enough for Ryo to wonder why none of his friends had come to check on him under the guise of casual conversation. Long enough to wonder why no one had seen Dee walk through the precinct in the first place. Long enough to become absolutely certain that if something didn't happen soon, all of that would become insignificant because he would surely drop dead on the thinly carpeted floor…

 

And then he…it…smiled, a slow, cold, feral grin, and leaned over to kiss him again, and the sense of Dee just…wasn't there, and Ryo felt disgust welling up in him and he had to close his eyes to keep from fighting back. Then the lips left him and he looked up, and it was gone, leaving Ryo alone with a pile of papers and a half-open door.

 

The paralysis lifted then, and Ryo pushed his chair back and stood up shakily, holding tightly to the edge of his desk with both hands. His knees were practically knocking together, he was shaking so hard.

 

“Ryo? Oh, my God, Ryo, are you all right?”

 

Ryo just stared down at his desk, barely noticing the voice. He only snapped out of his daze when someone took hold of his arm at the elbow and drew him upright, supporting him carefully. “Oh…JJ…hi…” he murmured dazedly, looking around for Drake. Sure enough, the sandy-haired man was standing at the door, which he'd just closed. “Hi, Drake…”

 

“Ryo, what's the matter?” JJ asked, concerned. “You look like you've seen the Devil himself!”

 

“You're not wrong…” Ryo murmured, finally managing to stand without help. “Uh…listen, I'm…not feeling well.” Well, it certainly wasn't a lie… “Uh…do you think you could…cover for me with Rose?”

 

He didn't have to wait for a reply to know that the answer was yes. That was just the kind of friends they were.

 

XXX

 

“Well, this is just great,” Dean said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he stared at their motel room's tiny TV. “We actually had a chance of taking care of this thing quietly. Now the press is gonna be trying to follow Ryo wherever he goes!”

 

Sam sighed. “Yeah, I know. But he'll probably be able to give them the slip. And even if he can't, we still have to do this tonight. If we wait someone could get hurt.” He bent back over the book that he had open in his lap, his lips continuing to move silently.

 

“How's the studying coming, Sammy?”

 

Sam shrugged. “Like being back at Stanford, only in Latin. I've got most of it memorized, but the reading gets more difficult near the end. What about you?”

 

Dean held up the plastic Tupperware bowl he'd been mixing in his lap while he watched the news. “Working on it. Hey, what time—”

 

A loud knock on the door cut through his thoughts then, and Sam looked up from the book. “Uh…I guess now…” he murmured, looking at his watch in confusion, and crawling off his bed to open the door.

 

Ryo made no move to come in. Instead, he stood in the open doorway, and blurted out the reason he'd come hours early.

 

“I saw him.”

 

XXX

 

“I just…I didn't expect…it…to come into the precinct like that. I know you said it was going to be following me around, but…not there. So many people know Dee there…”

 

“Well, at least it means we were right,” Dean said, coming up behind Ryo and handing him one of the cups of coffee he'd poured from the teeny-tiny coffee pot on the teeny-tiny counter in the corner of the room, giving another to Sam and keeping one for himself. “He won't hesitate to follow you anywhere, and that's an important part of our plan.”

 

Ryo took the cup gratefully and held it in both hands, his elbows resting on the table in front of him. “Yeah…that's true. It's good. I know it's good. But…it was unexpected, and I can't help acting stupid over it. Not all of us deal with this kind of thing every day.” But his tone wasn't at all defensive—or really anything at all. He just sounded…tired.

 

Sam decided not to touch on anything he'd said, since Ryo seemed to be talking to himself, anyway. “Ryo, did he follow you?” he asked instead, gently.

 

Ryo shrugged. “I didn't see him, but then again, I guess I wouldn't, right? And…I felt like he was. I don't know how to explain it, but I know I wasn't being paranoid. I'm almost sure he did.”

 

Sam felt a stab of satisfaction, but he hid it perfectly, and allowed only the sympathy he really did feel to show on his face. “Okay. That's good. That's important. But it also means that you should stay here, because if he's still watching, you can't leave too fast.”

 

Ryo nodded. “That's okay. I…I don't want to go home, anyway.”

 

Sam smiled sadly at him, and patted his shoulder as he stood. “Don't worry, Ryo. It's gonna be fine.”

 

What he didn't say was that it was probably going to get worse before it got better.

 

XXX

 

“Worse” hadn't yet arrived by the time night began to fall, but Sam's bad feeling didn't abate, so he knew it was still coming. He didn't bother mentioning it, though—he couldn't really pin down the feeling enough to articulate it, and though Dean would be willing to take “just a feeling” as a reason to worry, Ryo was another story entirely. He had no idea that Sam was a psychic, and it was probably best not to mention that little detail, at least not until this was all over.

 

Ryo had spent the day lying on Sam's bed—after a lot of insistence—watching TV. Well, supposedly he was watching TV, but considering the fact that he hadn't turned the channel all day, and the fact that he was now staring at the Magic Bullet infomercial as if fascinated, there probably wasn't a lot of watching going on there.

 

Dean had finished the mixture he'd been working on by five, and after that he moved on to cleaning the weapons. Many of them were already taken care of, and they wouldn't be using them tonight, but that wasn't the point of cleaning them, anyway, so Sam didn't say a word.

 

As for Sam…well, he was dangerously close to losing it. He'd had the chant memorized backward and forward—literally—a little before Dean finished the powder, but unlike his brother, he had no activity to fall back on. He finished all their laundry at the motel's machine, checked e-mails and replied to his friends, looked over the spell for the thousandth time to make sure he had it absolutely right, and finally wound up on the bed next to Ryo, staring at the TV.

 

Now, this wasn't exactly the biggest bed in the world, and with two grown men—both over six feet tall—it was quite a tight fit. He and Ryo ended up lying pretty close together, and while neither of them particularly cared or even noticed, Sam did feel an odd prickling sensation on the back of his neck, and that was how he knew that “Dee” was watching.

 

Good, he thought with satisfaction. It was all going according to plan…

 

XXX

 

Sam looked at his watch and nearly cried with relief. His vision would begin in exactly fifteen minutes. Finally, something was going to happen.

 

“He still watching us?” Dean asked, his voice deceptively calm as he packed up their weapons and stowed them under his bed. As he straightened, he tucked a hand into his pocket, and Sam knew he was making sure the pouch he'd put together was still there.

 

“Yes,” Ryo and Sam replied at the same time, and Sam ignored the confused look Ryo gave him.

 

Dean, however, didn't even seem to notice. He just asked—a little desperately— “Can we go yet, Sammy?”

 

“It's Sam.”

 

“Okay, great, let's get outta here.”

 

Sam rolled his eyes as Dean practically ran out of the room, but when Ryo smiled tiredly at their antics, he couldn't help but smile back.

 

XXX

 

“This has got to be the weirdest thing we've ever done to make a kill,” Dean muttered.

 

Sam felt Ryo tense under his arm at the “k” word, and he snapped, “Shut up, Dean.”

 

“No, don't worry about it,” Ryo replied quietly. “It's a little weird for me, too, and I'm the gay one here. Not that you're not very attractive,” he added quickly to Sam. “You are…just…uh…”

 

“I get it,” Sam cut him off, and glared at Dean over Ryo's head as his brother snorted laughter. “And it's not exactly normal for me, either, but making it jealous—or making it think it's jealous, anyway—is the only way we can be sure it'll keep following us, instead of leaving and waiting to get you alone.”

 

“I know. I just…oh, I wish we didn't have to do this! I wish you guys could just go home, and I wish Dee could just be here with me right now.” He sighed heavily, then changed the subject so abruptly that Sam was taken aback. “Hey, what did you mean when you said you wanted to make it think it was jealous?”

 

Sam shrugged. “Well, obviously demons are incapable of feeling human emotion. They can imitate it, but in the end that's all it is—cheap acting. But this demon wasn't always a demon. It was human once, and if luck is with us at all, it can remember how it felt back then, and it can remember how humans are supposed to feel when they see their…people?...I dunno, whatever…going off with someone else. If it gets jealous, it will want to kill, not just you, but me, for being with you, and even Dean, for allowing it.”

 

“So by trying to make it jealous, you're really just trying to make it come after all of us instead of just me.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“And this is what your plan hinges on?”

 

“Sadly, yes.”

 

Ryo shrugged. “Well, I like it. You'd get kicked off the force for a plan like that, but if it works…”

 

“It will work. He is still following us…” Sam swallowed, and steeled himself as they walked by yet another alleyway. “That's it. And now for the most awkward part of a really awkward outing.”

 

Dean chuckled. “Remember, Sammy, no glove, no love.”

 

Sam's glare would have been enough to send pretty much anyone scuttling for cover, but Dean just laughed. “Oh, I cannot wait to get my hands on you…”

 

Dean feigned shock. “Why, Sammy, I never would have pinned you as the type!”

 

“OH, MY GOD, DEAN!”

 

“Well, it's a little soon for the yell, but hey, it works.”

 

Sam very nearly abandoned the plan then, in favor of beating his brother into a bloody pulp, but he glanced at Ryo—who was not making jokes, and just looked scared—and forcibly swallowed his annoyance, reaching out to take Ryo by the arm.

 

Ryo didn't resist as Sam pulled him into the alley, but his arm was shaking under Sam's hand, and his breathing was harsh and heavy. Sam let go of him when they reached the back wall, and said, “Okay, unbutton your shirt a little. Yeah, I know,” he said at Ryo's look. “It's disturbing for me, too, mainly because I like the girls, but I couldn't figure out a way around it.” As he spoke, Sam was unbuttoning the top three buttons of his shirt, and Ryo tentatively did the same.

 

“Oh, God, this is so gonna haunt me `till I die,” Sam muttered, screwing his eyes up tight and reaching out to grab Ryo's shoulders as if he was taking hold of a snake.

 

The details of the next minute or so really don't need telling. Both Ryo and Sam were entirely freaked out by the present situation—for completely understandable reasons on both sides—but luckily they didn't have to go very far before they were interrupted.

 

“Having fun?”

 

Ryo jumped away from Sam like his skin was on fire as the smooth voice rolled over them, and Sam knew that he wasn't the only one who felt a pang of relief at the separation as he turned toward the voice.

 

“Dee” stood not five feet away from them, watching them coolly. The demon wasn't smiling, or frowning, or anything—just staring at them with no expression at all. It looked exactly like it had in Sam's vision—calm, cold, cruel…

 

And then its gaze captured Sam's, and the sheer power of its gaze was almost enough to unravel the youngest Winchester. Its eyes, a bright, poisonous, glowing green, caught Sam's, and he stopped moving, stopped studying, stopped thinking. He could only watch, powerless, as the thing dismissed him as someone of no importance, and turned its attention to Ryo.

 

Now, Sam had never been forced to watch as one of his visions was brought to life, but he found he could not look away as “Dee” approached Ryo, drawing out the gun.

 

“Dee…please…” Ryo whimpered, and it was heartbreakingly obvious that he was only half acting. “You don't want to do this. I know you don't. This isn't you…you would never do this to me. Don't shoot that gun, Dee…you'll never forgive yourself if you do…”

 

The gun rose, and Sam was finally able to close his eyes and duck his head as the gunshot shattered the quiet of the alley.

 

Wait for it…wait for it…

 

And then Dean was there, and Sam looked up just in time to see him dump the binding powder he'd spent all day making over the creature's head, keeping it still just long enough to make a quick circle of the stuff around it, sealing it in place.

 

As he opened his mouth and began the chant, Sam wondered why they hadn't yet arrived at “worse.”

 

XXX

 

Dean was a little disappointed. His part in this whole thing had been entirely anticlimactic. The stupid thing hadn't even fought back! He'd expected some kind of resistance, at least! But there had been nothing, and that was a little sad.

 

But whatever. That wasn't even the point. The point was, now the creature was just standing there, not so much as twitching, just staring from Ryo, to Sam, to Dean, and back. Its eyes grew brighter with each circle, and—creepiest of all—there was a small smirk on its lips, like it found these proceedings hilarious. Like it wasn't worried about this at all.

 

That should have been his next clue.

 

Sam's chants swelled, grew in volume, and Dean felt a stab of pride. Damn, but the kid could memorize fast. And he would be getting to the end of it now, so this was almost over. Sam's voice rose to a shout, and just like that, the demon exited Dee's body.

 

It left quickly, efficiently…silently. There was no scream of rage, no roar of pain…nothing. It didn't even seem to fight. It just…allowed itself to be expelled from Dee's body.

 

Dean didn't know whether the thought occurred to him naturally, or if the demon somehow inserted it into his mind, but it was there all the same. Suddenly, he knew why there hadn't been any fight. The demon hadn't been effected at all by the binding powder. The spell itself had done its job, but only because the demon hadn't fought it. Their nerve had made it angry, sure, but it had decided to use that anger, to give it a target—a target that would hurt those that had tried to kill it…and it knew that those people did not include Ryo.

 

“SAM!”

 

The warning shout came too late. Almost too fast to see, the now-formless demon threw itself into Sam, who went absolutely still, and then slowly smiled. His eyes brightened, began to change color…With a chuckle, he stared lazily toward Dean, who could only stare.

 

Oh, God, no…not yet…it can't be time yet…

 

And then the demon stopped, froze in its tracks. The smirk faded, and was replaced by a frown. Then the frown changed to terror, and the terror changed to a yell, and the yell changed to a roar, and Sam's mouth opened….and black mist poured out.

 

XXX

 

He was closer to Dean than he was before.

 

That was the first thing Sam noticed when he came back to himself. The second thing he noticed was that he didn't remember if he'd done anything. He couldn't remember a thing from the time the thing had entered him—he didn't even know how long it had been inside him…or how it wasn't anymore.

 

Well, I guess we've arrived at “worse”…he thought absently, as he looked around frantically.

 

He managed to take in enough to feel an overwhelming relief. No one was dead. They were all staring, wide-eyed, at him, but they were all alive…

 

And then the world started graying out, and he fell to his knees.

 

And when Ryo collapsed, Sam realized that he'd been wrong.

 

They hadn't arrived at “worse.”

 

No, they'd skipped “worse” entirely, and gone right on ahead to “worst.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

AN: I know the end was really confusing. It was supposed to be, until the next chapter. Anyways, there's either one or two more chapters to this. It depends on whether or not I decide to put the epilogue in the next one or not. Either way, please review!!! …If it's not too much trouble, that is…